Start a local directory site you own, with no platform fee. Draft wording

• One command, no packages

  node build/generate.mjs reads your listings from one data file and writes every page as plain HTML. It uses only what ships with Node.js: there is no npm install step and no framework.

• Thin pages are held back by rules in the code

  A city gets its own page only once it has 10 checked listings. Inside a published city, a city × category page appears at 3 checked listings, and search engines may index it only at 5 or more; with 3–4 it is marked noindex,follow. City pages list checked listings only.

• Every listing shows the date you checked it

  A checked listing carries the line “Checked against the shop’s own website on <date>.” A listing you haven’t checked says “Not re-checked yet.” and its page is noindex,follow. The build stops with an error if a listing has a checked date but no source links.

• Structured data only from what the page shows

  Checked listing pages get LocalBusiness JSON-LD built from the visible fields: name, description, website, and phone, email and address when the listing shows them. City × category pages get an ItemList. No ratings, no reviews, no prices.

• Free listings, and a flat-fee Featured spot that is always labeled

  Every listing is free. A Featured listing is labeled “Featured”, comes first in its category, and its website link gets rel="sponsored". The pages include a Free vs Featured table with no booking cut, and the build refuses to mark an unchecked listing as Featured. The Feature button is switched off, because no payment system is included: you would add your own.

• A sitemap with real dates

  The sitemap lists only the pages that may be indexed, hub pages first. Each listing page’s lastmod is the date you checked it; a city or category page uses the newest checked date among its listings.

• One switch for a private preview

  While STAGING = true, every page carries a noindex,nofollow tag. The included _headers file sends the same as a header, plus a strict content policy that blocks outside scripts and form posts. robots.txt allows crawling, so search engines can see the noindex.

• The build checks your data before it writes anything

  It stops on an unknown field, a missing name or category, a duplicate slug, a phone number not written like 555-555-0100, or a page title over 60 characters.

• A record of every claim and every indexable page

  Each build also writes CLAIMS.json (every listing fact, with its source links and checked date), INDEXABLE-PAGES.md (which pages can be indexed, and why the others can’t) and a short build report. These sit beside the site, not in it.

• Page checks in a real browser

  qa/check.mjs opens every page in headless Google Chrome at 360, 390 and 1440 pixels wide and fails on sideways scrolling, tap targets under 44×44 pixels, or a missing noindex. You need Chrome installed; nothing is downloaded.

Not built yet: letting a business claim its own listing. The code shows a “Claim it” button, switched off.

Example record — fictional shop

{
  "name": "Example Lens Loft",
  "slug": "example-lens-loft",
  "metro": "your-city",
  "neighborhood": "Old Town",
  "categories": [
    "camera-lens"
  ],
  "rents": [
    "cinema cameras",
    "lenses",
    "lighting kits"
  ],
  "pickup_delivery": "In-store pickup; delivery available",
  "hours": "Mon–Fri 9am–5pm",
  "phone": "555-555-0100",
  "email": "rentals@example.com",
  "website": "https://example.com/",
  "address": "100 Example Street, Sampletown",
  "blurb": "A made-up shop that rents cameras, lenses and lighting kits.",
  "source_urls": [
    "https://example.com/rentals"
  ],
  "verified_date": "2026-11-07",
  "featured": false
}

name (required)*

Business name as shown on its own website.

slug (required)*

Web address part for the listing page, lowercase with dashes. Must be unique.

metro (required)*

Which of your cities it belongs to.

neighborhood

Area or town, only if the business states it.

categories (required)*

One or more of your category keys. The first one is its main category.

rents

Short list of what the business says it offers.

pickup_delivery

Pickup or delivery, only as the business states it.

hours

Opening hours, copied as published.

phone

Public business number, written 555-555-0100.

email

Public business email, only if shown on its site.

website

Its own website, starting with https://.

address

Street address, only if published.

blurb (required)*

One plain, factual sentence.

source_urls

The pages you read to check the facts. Needed for a checked listing.

verified_date

The day you checked it, written YYYY-MM-DD. Empty means not checked.

featured

true or false. Can only be true on a checked listing, once you have turned payments on.

* Required: name, slug, metro, categories, blurb. GadgetRental’s file also allows 2 bookkeeping fields used only by its own earlier version; they’re planned to be left out of the template.

Planned contents

directory-template/
├── APPROVED-COPY.md
├── build/
│   ├── generate.mjs
│   ├── data/
│   │   └── shops.json
│   ├── research/
│   │   └── SCHEMA.md
│   ├── templates/
│   │   ├── site.css
│   │   ├── favicon.svg
│   │   └── _headers
│   └── tools/
│       └── verify.mjs
└── qa/
    └── check.mjs

APPROVED-COPY.md

Your site’s own wording for prices, terms and the footer. The build prints each line word for word.

build/generate.mjs

The generator. Your city list, category list, site name and web address are set near the top of this file.

build/data/shops.json

Your listings, one record per business. Planned to ship empty.

build/research/SCHEMA.md

How to fill in one listing record when you research a business.

build/templates/

The stylesheet, site icon and preview headers.

build/tools/verify.mjs

Link, sitemap and layout checks. Written for an earlier GadgetRental build; planned to be updated.

qa/check.mjs

The browser page checks described above.

Planned to be taken out: GadgetRental’s listings, its Texas city and category lists, its name and logo, and two one-off tools it used to import its earlier version.

A good fit if you want to start a small directory of local businesses, on the model of free basic listings plus a labeled, flat-fee Featured spot with no cut of anyone’s sales. You’re fine running node build/generate.mjs in a terminal and putting the output folder on a static web host.

Not a fit if you want a site builder you click through, a WordPress theme, or a directory that comes with listings or visitors.

• No hosting. You put the files on a host you choose.
• No data. It ships with no listings. You research and check each one.
• No visitors. A new directory starts with no traffic.
• No booking or payments. The Featured button is switched off until you add your own payment setup.
• No accounts or logins. There is no admin screen; you edit a data file.
• No plugins to update. It is a few plain files and Node.js.

The catch: it's code, not a business. You bring the listings, check each one yourself, and host the files. Draft wording

Most of the work in a directory is finding businesses and checking each one against its own website. The template makes the pages; it doesn’t do that work. And today it can’t be bought at all: it is planned, not packaged.

The template is planned to be the same code that builds GadgetRental, a preview directory of Texas gadget-rental shops that is not public yet. GadgetRental isn’t public and has no paying listings, so there are no results to report, and this page claims none.

Questions can’t be sent yet. When they can, it will be through the March River Group contact section, shown switched off in its preview: March River Group contact section: preview (test copy, not live)

Is it a subscription?

No. It is planned as a one-time download.

What do I need?

A computer with Node.js. The browser checks also need Google Chrome, and Node 22 or newer for its built-in WebSocket.

Where can I host the site?

Any host that serves static files. The included _headers file uses the Cloudflare Pages format.

Does it only work for rental shops?

The fields were written for local shops. Your own categories and cities are set in generate.mjs.